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A new home in Seattle is described as having a cutting-edge combination of green technology, renewables and reclaimed materials. It is designed by Dwell Development to be Built Green Emerald Star certified. If the certification is awarded, it will be be the first home of its kind in the city.

The Built Green residential building program was developed with a view to providing environmental standards for use of materials, energy efficiency, water use and indoor air quality. Built Green ratings range from 3-Star through 4-Star and 5-Star up to Emerald Star.

Emerald Star certified homes must achieve net zero energy usage by way of generating electricity from a renewable source such as solar or wind, use 70 percent less water than a conventional home and ensure that 90 percent of wood used is reclaimed or FSC-certified. They must also demonstrate impeccable air quality.

The certification for Dwell’s 2,218-sq ft (206-sq m) home is still pending, but the firm, which previously designed the Reclaimed Modern home in Columbia City, says it expects it to receive the highest rating. The firm says it is the only residential developer in Washington that exclusively builds 5-star or above Bui…………… continues on Gizmag

But if living more sustainably and making my house greener and more energy efficient can make it just a little bit more like Peter Clegg’s then where do I sign up?

Peter is a leading light in the Cheltenham Green Door movement, which gets people to open their houses for one weekend a year, and has made his own small Victorian terrace in Tivoli into a beacon of efficiency.

(It may be that I’ve been more seduced by the fact that it’s spotless, and tidy and well organised while still having a really attractive sense of mild Bohemianism – there’s a life size cardboard cut-out of Freema Agyeman, who played Martha Jones in Doctor Who in the front room. She’s standing next to one of two vintage jukeboxes.)